Thank you. Madam Speaker, the problem is that the honourable Member should realize that we've already sent out the consultation document to the people of the Northwest Territories. That is before the federal government has even announced their document. It deals with all portions of our community, including youth and elders who were overlooked and aboriginal people who were divided and overlooked by the federal government.

We have established, in our government, the task force to develop the comprehensive position on the part of our government because we didn't want to in any way take a back seat to the processes that were to be established by the federal government. If anything, we would like to lead the federal government in solutions that would be proposed by the people of the Northwest Territories.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Madam Speaker, that's well and good. Obviously we want made-in-the-north programs. But as the Minister is aware, this whole area of income support reform is an area that has been going on for many years. The major barriers to us making progress have been those financial barriers set up by the federal government. So my question to the Minister, Madam Speaker, is more specific. Are there specific federal, provincial, territorial task forces that we're involved with? I'll use that as my question, Madam Speaker.

Minister of Education, Culture and Employment, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. What we have done initially is to establish our own task force to review our own programs. We have $192 million worth of social program funding that is expended in the Northwest Territories. We have to get a handle, first of all, about the picture that we have and the expenditures that we're making. Secondly, we have to get an indication from the communities as to where their priorities are. And part of the task force responsibility is to bring some sense to that.

The second portion to our initiative is to bring the federal process north with the standing committee and, secondly, we're meeting on an ongoing basis with federal officials to review their position in conjunction to our position, and to try to bring some sense to the issues that are being brought forward. They are, as the honourable Member has pointed out, very complex and very divided in terms of the provinces. What we need to do is to try to get some sense of what we're trying to accomplish.

There are already divisions being brought about by the federal initiative where they are dividing the aboriginal community and non-aboriginal community, the north versus the south, provinces versus the territories and province versus province. It is a very complex issue. We've been trying to ensure that we have a collective position, rather than a divided position.

Thank you. Final supplementary, Mr. Ballantyne.

Supplementary, Madam Speaker. I don't argue with that particular component of the approach. I think it's very, very important. My concern goes hand in hand with that. In the northern approach, there has to be the federal strategy. My question to the Minister is, is the Minister taking steps to ensure that the process which will take place in the north won't raise expectations to a point that whatever the federal government is prepared to do, those expectations won't be able to be met? Thank you, Madam Speaker.

Thank you. Minister of Education, Mr. Nerysoo.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. No, we are not intending to raise expectations. What we are trying to do is to ensure that what people see as our social responsibility, that those dollars are presently in the programs in existence at this particular juncture.

The other point is we want to ensure that we use our money much better. The investing in people program, which deals with offering education and training, the building and learning strategy and our renewable resources development strategy are all components of a bigger picture. We are trying to bring them all together and use our resources more appropriately.

There are also initiatives being undertaken by the Minister of Economic Development and Tourism for creating new businesses and new jobs for the north.

Thank you. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Natilikmiot, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you. Minister of Finance, Mr. Pollard.

Madam Speaker, I thank the Member for drawing the matter to my attention. I will do everything with the federal government to ensure that the cheques arrive in a timely fashion. It may also be that our government has been lax in that area, so I will check that as well, Madam Speaker, and report back to the Member. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 7, oral questions. The honourable Member for Deh Cho, Mr. Gargan.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Renewable Resources, Mr. Arngna'naaq. It is with regard to fires. Madam Speaker, as of September 16, there were still some active fires going in the western Arctic. I want to ask the Minister if there has been any monitoring of those fires still going at this time, and does the Minister know how many are still going?

Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. At the present time, there are, we understand, approximately 80 fires still smouldering. These are all located in the western Arctic regions, except for the Inuvik area. All fires that the department is aware of are being monitored by departmental staff. We expect that as the temperature cools, these fires should go out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Arngna'naaq. Supplementary, Mr. Gargan.

Mr. Speaker, I also understand that under forestry, there are three zones under which fires are identified. Zone 1 are fires you must fight, zone 2 you fight sometimes and zone 3 fires that you just let go. Is the Minister aware of what categories the 80 fires he has mentioned are in?

Thank you. Mr. Arngna'naaq.

Mr. Speaker, no, I'm not aware of what categories these fires are being observed at at the present time.

Thank you, Mr. Minister. Mr. Gargan, supplementary.

Well, can I ask the Minister, then, if he would provide me with that information?

Mr. Arngna'naaq.